The Pittsburgh Pirates’ Paul Skenes exploded onto the scene after making his major league debut in May. The 22-year-old righty consistently hits triple digits with his fastball, he became the first rookie to start the All-Star game since 1995, he’s the first Pirates rookie pitcher to ever be selected as an All-Star and he’s the frontrunner for National League Rookie of the Year.
In short, Skenes has been inimitable this season. But Livvy Dunne gave it her best shot. Dunne is dating Skenes and she decided to flatter her boyfriend through imitation at Fanatics Fest, per MLB's official account on X.
Dressed in a Pirates number 30 home uniform and sporting a fake mustache, Dunne delighted onlookers at the event in New York City’s Javits Center. In addition to impersonating her partner and posing for photos, Dunne called on her background as a USA national gymnastics team member. She threw a pitch from the stretch before performing an impressive cartwheel/handspring routine. Dunne stuck the landing with an arms folded pose.
Skenes has accomplished a great deal during his first year in the majors but he’s yet to follow up a pitch with a round-off into a front walkover.
Everyone wants to be like the Pirates’ Paul Skenes
Dunne (21) is currently a member of the LSU women’s gymnastics team. Skenes also attended LSU and helped the Tigers win the 2023 College World Series. He was the series’ Most Outstanding Player and took home National Pitcher of the Year honors last year before being selected first overall by the Pirates in the 2023 MLB draft.
Skenes didn’t get to see Dunne’s routine firsthand as he is in Pittsburgh where his Pirates have won two-straight against the Seattle Mariners. Dunne’s famous boyfriend went six innings and allowed three hits and two earned runs in a win on Friday.
The victory snapped a brutal 10-game losing streak for the Pirates. It was just Pittsburgh’s second win in August. Despite ending the slide the Pirates lost former MVP Andrew McCutchen to the 10-day injured list during Friday’s game because it's just that kind of season for Pittsburgh.
The Pirates are six games under .500 and 12.5 games behind the first-place Milwaukee Brewers in the NL Central. Pittsburgh is six games back in the National League Wild Card race but would need to overtake six teams to land the final postseason berth.
Despite the environment, Skenes has impressed. He’s 7-2 with a 2.30 ERA, 0.969 WHIP, 11.1 K/9 and an ERA+ of 180 in 98 innings pitched. The first-year hurler is up to 4.0 bWAR in 16 starts for the Pirates so far this season.
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